West Ham were beaten 2-1 by Olympiacos on Thursday night in the Europa League and former Hammer Joe Cole was not impressed with the performance of Pablo Fornals.
The victory for the Greek side makes a tricky group a little more interesting as West Ham play host next time out in the competition.
David Moyes’ side went into halftime 2-0 down and the manner in which Fornals failed to close down Rodinei for the home side’s second goal was nothing short of lazy as he afforded the Brazilian plenty of time and space to swing a cross into the area.
Speaking at the break, Joe Cole was not happy with the midfielder and was left frustrated by the Spaniard’s defensive work.
Speaking on TNT Sport at halftime, the pundit said: “West Ham dropped way below the standards that this group of players have set. Not tight enough to allow a cross to come in like that. That could have come in for about five seconds, then Ogbonna I think he’s suffering from not playing regularly, he made a mistake in the first half.
“When you’re a winger and you’re going all the way back with your full-back, you’re there to try and stop the cross, not be a mannequin and these little details all add up. This group of players over the last three years have been on it on Thursday nights and they didn’t do the basics tonight and they’ve been punished.”
